John Locher/AP
Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Saturday, October 28.
CNN —
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will visit Israel on Sunday, marking him as the first Republican presidential candidate to visit the country since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Christie, who has made US leadership on the world stage a focal point of his campaign, confirmed the trip, first reported by CNN, at a New Hampshire town hall on Thursday.
The former New Jersey governor expressed his intention to meet with the families of people kidnapped by Hamas, as well as Israel Defense Force soldiers and Israeli government officials.
He’s also scheduled to visit the so-called Gaza envelope region in southern Israel, according to an itinerary shared with CNN.
In a preview of his discussions with Israeli officials, Christie urged Israel on the debate stage in Miami to protect its territorial integrity and the safety of its civilians to prevent future attacks by Hamas.
He argued that Israel and their intelligence community had failed the people, asserting the need for closer collaboration with the US to improve intelligence-gathering in the region.
He also encouraged Israeli leaders to work with “reasonable” Arab nations and isolate Iran in the Middle East.
Christie emphasized that conversations about a two-state solution in the region should cease definitively in the wake of the Hamas attacks, despite his previous support for that ultimate outcome.
“I think there can’t be any discussion right now about a two-state solution until you dispose of Hamas’ ability to perpetrate such terrorist attacks again,” he stressed during an interview on “AC360.”
This will not be Christie’s first time in Israel – he visited the country in 2012 on his first foreign trip as governor.
Christie, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, has made standing up to US adversaries abroad central to his vision for America and has distanced himself from rivals who are reluctant to provide aid to allies in wartime.
Accusing China, Iran, and North Korea of collaborating to support Russia, Christie emphasized that this is the price the US pays for being leaders of the free world.
After returning from Israel, Christie is expected to deliver a foreign policy address at the Hudson Institute to further lay out his worldview.
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(Additional developments have been updated on this story)
